Assistant District Attorney Patricia Fuentes Mulqueen told Northampton County Judge Edward Smith this morning the district attorney's office was dropping charges of conspiracy to commit homicide and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault against Joesyan Miranda, 23. Instead, Smith accepted a plea deal and sentenced Miranda to two-and-a-half to nine years in state prison.

Miranda told Smith he was with Robinson Moyo-Torres on March 20 in the 1200 block of Randolf Road in Bethlehem's Marvine-Pembrook housing projects when they confronted a 16-year-old who was revving his engine. The teen knocked out Moyo-Torres with a punch to the face, sparking a melee, he said. In defense of Moyo-Torres, Miranda jumped in and began slashing at people with a box cutter he was carrying, he said.

"They were both bigger than me, so I pulled out out the box cutter," he said. Miranda said he was only trying to defend Moyo-Torres, whom he described as his father-in-law.

Mulqueen interjected that Miranda and Moyo-Torres started the chaos by approaching the teenager in a threatening manner. Police said the two fled but returned moments later. This time, Moyo-Torres brought a shotgun, which he fired into a crowd of people as they scrambled for the safety of their homes. Police say Surelys Collazo, a six-month pregnant woman, and William Vasquez were shot but not seriously wounded.

Police know Miranda was at the scene of the shooting but could not prove he conspired with Torres to try to kill the people they were fighting, Mulqueen said. Instead, both sides agreed to a plea deal for trying to slash people with the box cutter, Mulqueen said.

The unmarried Miranda told Smith he has a tenth-grade education and has fathered four children with two different women. He was out on work release for drunken driving at the time of the fight, but said he wants to leave the Lehigh Valley for Florida so he can get his life on track and be a good father.

"It happened so quick. It wasn't my intention to have anyone get shot," he said.

"The light bulb went off," said defense attorney Joseph Yannuzzi. "He understands what his future would be if he stuck around Bethlehem."